Pepper, if you ever go evil, we're all in trouble
by Random Shipper798
Summary: A story involving Pepperony, a new love interest, A.I.M., Extremis, Madame Masque, and Pepper is the center of it all. Or will a new Pepper emerge from the old? And if so, what will she do? I DON'T OWN A DAMN THING. LET'S GET THAT STRAIGHT NOW BEFORE I FORGET.
1. Uneasiness

Pepper's POV:

It was just a normal day in my life. I got up, got ready for school, and walked to school with Tony and Rhodey. We just got out of Physics and we were climbing up the steps to the roof.

"You know, every since we took down that Makluan monster, everything's been alright." Rhodey noted. He laughed; "I got a 'B' on that pop quiz. That never happens." I laughed with him. _Rhodey was right though._ I thought. _Crime had gone down and school was becoming bearable. The worse part of it all was that Tony and I's relationship hadn't gone much further. When we were finally alone after the invasion, he kissed me on the cheek. My body became electrified with sparks! I couldn't sleep for a few days it was totally worth it. But after, it was like nothing had ever happened. Tony simply went back to spending time with his dad, which I completely understood, but I just missed spending time with my blue-eyed genius._

"Pep?" "...Hey Pepper! Whitney's back!" Someone yelled, pulling me from my internal babbling. It was the same genius I had been thinking of.

"What? What'd I miss?" I questioned. My best friends looked at me strangely. "We were saying, that you've been pretty quiet lately. Did we do anything?" Tony asked. I smiled, shook my head, but didn't respond. After the invasion, I was also wondering about the end of high school. We would soon go our separate ways, with Rhodey going into the military, Tony working at Stark International, and me (hopefully) going to SHIELD. Team Iron Man would slowly disperse, and nothing would ever be the same. I played with my short fiery hair, and quickly pushed the thought out of my mind. Walking away from my friends, I went over to my usual spot on a building beam in the sun. On sitting down, I pulled out my phone and silently checked MySpace page (anyone remember that?). While basking in the sun, I didn't heat up like a body would normally do. Just considering myself lucky, I went back to my page. Thoughts of the future invaded my head once more, but I pushed them out. "Everything will be fine." I contemplated. I sighed, not truly believing myself.

Tony's POV:

I watched my fiery red headed friend, as she sat down in the sun.

The sun beautifully lit her up, and made her figure even more defined. Although slightly slouching, Pepper still looked great and poised. Under the sun, her hair lit up, giving the appearance of the fiery dawn. Her wild onyx hazel eyes, tamed by boredom. Her few freckles popped up with the sun over them, but they accented her face well.

But I was still wondering about her behavior. ' _What was wrong with her?'._ It wasn't like her to be quiet like that. Not to mention, totally avoiding an opportunity to start a whole new conversation of her choosing. My mind wandered to the reason of her sudden silence. It had been a week since the invasion, and since I kissed her cheek. The days after were filled of catching up with my dad, but Pepper hadn't said a word to me. ' _Did she not like the kiss? Does she not like me as much as I like her?'_ I puzzled. I just needed her to talk to me. For me to hear her cute rambling and just to hear her great voice was enough to make me happy. I loved her too much.

I started to make my way towards her, but Rhodey held me back. He shook his head, telling me that she needed some space. I reluctantly nodded back to him and sat down. For some reason, I felt somewhat uneasy, but quickly shrugged it off. It was a good day, and everything was fine.

3 hours later:

P POV:

I ran down the steps and jogged towards the subway. "Hey Pep! Wait up!" Tony yelled. I slowed down for him, but never stopped moving. The subway was 5 minutes away, and I needed to get home fast. My dad was about to leave for a mission, and I wanted to see him off. This would be the third time I was actually able to say 'goodbye' before he went off to who knows where. When Tony finally caught up, he ruffled his hair, smiled and stopped.

" _Wow. He looks super mega cute right now. I love his kind and bright smile….Wait! Pepper, he doesn't like you that way. Just stop yourself and ask what he wants"_

I wearily smiled back at him, "Why are you running after me? Don't you and Rhodey usually drive home?" Pepper said. It was their unbroken tradition. She remembered the last time she tried driving home with them. She had just dampened the mood, while the two boys snickered at each other's inside jokes while I sat in silence "I wanted to spend some time with you. It's been awhile since it was just you and me." Tony flashed me another shining smile. I shrugged it over, and continued walking to the subway.

Suddenly, a big shadow overcame Manhattan. We simultaneously looked at the sky. Shocked expressions came over our faces when we saw the cause for the shadow. Hundreds to thousands of A.I.M hover crafts. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tony dash into an alley. Seconds later, Iron Man flew out of the shadows of the alley, out to attack the threat. After minutes of chaos War Machine sped in and could be seen taking down some ships. Taking one last look at the scene in the sky, I took off for the Makluan Temple. Seemingly out of nowhere, someone roughly grabbed me and hoisted me over their shoulder. A bag roughly pulled over my head, while carrying me to their desired destination. I fiercely pounded on the the back of my kidnapper. "Let go!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. " _Some one had to hear me! Not everyone ran away yet, right?"_ I kicked as hard as I could, but the person seemed rock hard. After struggling for a minute, I was rewarded with a heavy 'clonk' on the head. As I fought for consciousness, I heard a voice and the noise of working propellers. While I started diving into the dark, I could hear the commanding voice.

"Put her inside the carrier. This is perfect. She will be the beginning of a new era!" Then unconsciousness embraced me.


	2. New Life

T POV:

" _How was A.I.M. able to pull this off? The Controller is in S.H.I.E.L.D custody. On top of that he lost his memory! Who was in control of A.I.M. now? At least they aren't putting up much of a fight."_ I thought.

After 15 sweaty, fighting minutes, they were already retreating. If they showed up just to leave so quickly, what would even be the point of fighting? I decided to contact Rhodey over the Comm System.

"Hey War Machine, don't you think this was too easy? They brought so much ammo, but didn't use it." War Machine simply shrugged. "Just shake it off man! We still won! It's all good." I laughed off my worries and flew back into the alley, and took off my armor. While walking out of the alley, I searched around for Pepper, but couldn't see her. Once again, uneasiness washed over me.

" _The subway is only a couple feet away. She probably went home. Yeah, she went home."_ I reassured myself. Again, I buried my uneasiness and walked home with Rhodey, as if it never happened.

P POV:

I tried to open my eyes, but I was blindfolded. I tried to move, but my limbs were tied down, and I had a oxygen mask securely strapped to my face. Besides me, I could hear the steady beep of a heart monitor, but the voices around me overtook the machine's noise. "Sir, are you positive this procedure is necessary? We still have some stabilized, pure Extremis. Just inject it into one of our soldiers and that alone is enough to take him down!" A man cried. "This will be better than one of those sheep using Extremis. It will break him down, mentally and physically." Another man hissed. The other man wearily tried to get another word in, but the commanding one shushed him. "Now begin with the procedure. We need all the time we can with her." He chuckled darkly. "Patricia 'Pepper' Potts will be better than MODOC ever was!"

I took that little line as my cue to try and get out of there. I tried to break from my binds, but to no avail. I swiveled my head around, in vain, to see my captor. The man laughed at my futile struggling. When his laughing subsided, he must have signaled to his minion, because the man began his work. My skin was soon covered in a layer of a gel type solution and another layer of I had no idea what it was. "Currently we are lacing your skin with an Extremis infused organic technology. We found and altered the organism based technology to work to yours and our advantage." A deep voice rang out. "For obvious reasons, I cannot reveal what this technology will do to your body, but I just wanted you to be informed." The deep voiced man paused, but then whispered to the man operating on me. "Make sure she's ready afterwards. We have to perform tests so when she's done, I want it set it to max control immediately. Overtime, the technology will takeover. Only some of her memories and her regular nature shall remain, for now. But her objective should always stay as her top priority."

The operator continued to do his work, despite hearing his boss's words. After what seemed like ages of just laying there, pain seared through my body. My thoughts became foggy, energy attacked my body at full force, and my skin felt on fire. My insides twisted, turned, churned, and burned. I screamed. I cried. I tried to struggle, but the binds only got tighter and the pain only burned more. Once again, darkness encased me.

I woke up what seemed like hours later.

Despite the pain I felt earlier, my body was completely okay. I got up, expecting to still be tied down, but surprisingly there were no bonds. I opened my eyes, no longer blindfolded. It was pitch black, but I could still see everything as if the lights were on. I had beyond 20/20 vision. I carefully got down from the operating table, but soon started freaking out. " _I've been kidnapped by A.I.M. who has done who knows what to my body. And I'm trapped in a random room and I am NOW just freaking out?!"_ After walking around the small room, I found the door and pounded on it. " _I had to get out! I had to get to Tony and warn him."_ As thoughts rushed into my mind, I could feel a small buzz in the back of my head, and my panicked thoughts flew away just as quickly as they came.

I stopped pounding on the door. Even though, inexplicably, I made some pretty big dents, I couldn't break it down. Seconds after I stopped, soft footsteps made their way to me. I turned around to see a short man in a lab coat. He was kinda plump, and had stubby legs. He sported the greasy, stressed out look with his ruffled dirty blonde hair and thin rimmed glasses. He gave me a weak, yet set smile. "Uh, ...I have been assigned to take you to your test." I remembered the conversation before I passed out. The two men talking about me.

This was the guy who operated on me...The pathetic little man who changed me and put me through that excruciating pain. Who did he think he was to make me do anything?

I glared down at the little man with a deep scowl painted on my face. Despite how much I didn't want to do it, I had to. I was a prisoner. I could easily take down the pathetic man but how long would it be before stronger men came in to take me down? After a while, I nodded. He opened the door I had been banging on with a hand held control pad and led me down a long dark yellow hallway. The whole place looked like a beehive, but I truly didn't care. I felt so empty and emotionless, as if all my movements weren't my own, and I was just the shell. I shrugged off my feelings, pushing them deep down, so no one could use them against me.

Soon we reached our destination after a few minutes of walking. It was an empty room, with the same walls as the hallway. The plump man gestured to the door, wordlessly telling me to go inside. As I carelessly walked inside, the door slammed behind me. The ground trembled beneath my feet, before squadrons of A.I.M soldiers appeared before me. As I stood surrounded, something in me... snapped. Anger and excitement ran through my body, pumping my body with an extreme adrenaline rush. A voice in the back of my head, echoed in my mind.

" _ **Just attack. You can take them. We can take them."**_

I attacked.


	3. The Beginning of the End

Tony's POV:

I called Pepper for what seemed to be the 50th time that week. She always called back immediately. Is this how Pepper felt when I didn't call her back sometimes? She hadn't been in school for over a week. I looked at the door leading to Physics and then looked back at the exit.

After 10 minutes of running, I finally reached Pepper and her dad's apartment. I knocked on the door, expecting to hear the soft shuffle of feet approaching the door. But I was greeted with complete silence. I put my hand down my pocket and dug around for my key. It was a skeleton key I had easily created when I was eight. I quickly put the key in and the door quietly swung open. Everything was neat and in it's place, but the place was empty. She was nowhere to be found. " _Where is she? If she hasn't been home, then where the hell is she? She couldn't have been kidnapped...could she?"_ Tears blurred my vision while horrible images tormented my mind. I bolted out of the apartment and ran into a alley way, using Extremis to call on my armor. In less than a minute, I became Iron Man and was flying above Manhattan. "I swear I'll find you Pepper. Whatever it takes."

1 month later

Pepper POV:

Day after day, it was test after test. Strength tests, intelligence tests, and more. Yet somehow, they were all so easy. Some of the material they gave me I had never seen in my life, but I passed with 100's. I was bored and wanted to be challenged. I figured whatever they had put in my body, was helping me. I wanted to know why A.I.M. wanted to help me and my life. But I was a prisoner, and I had to find a way out. Yet, the most part of my body was telling me to stay and find out more.

I didn't know how long it had been since my kidnapping, but without any tools to cut my hair, it had grown a little bit past my shoulders. As I ran my hands through it, I paced around my deadly silent room. It was pretty much the only thing I could do, other than taking tests. I never could stand being in one place too long.

Memories of being in the armory with Tony and Rhodey flooded my mind. One day, we were stuck because the system had a small glitch. It felt so strange when I walked around and saw the same scenery around me. I swear I lost my mind that day and we were stuck in there for 4 hours!

" _I miss them so much. I wish I could see Rhodey, Happy, Dad, Tony…"_ My head pounded as I thought of them, forcing me to move my thoughts to something else. After pacing around for what seemed like the millionth time, a boy walked into my room. He didn't wear a helmet and a ridiculous beehive costume like the others who came in my jail cell. He looked around my age. He had messy spiked brown hair, and was as pale as Basil Sandhurst. Sandhurst, my captor and the current leader of A.I.M. The boy's body was lean, and was dressed in jet black jeans, a gold t-shirt, and combat boots. He had a kind smile on his face, and his black eyes drew me in.

"Pepper, I'm Xavier. I'll be your partner on your mission. I know everything seems strange right now, but I promise everything will be revealed." Xavier explained.

I had some idea of what he was talking about. Ever since my operation and the first test that man took me to, all the workers around me were talking about my "mission" and how I was even more than ready. I looked up at the so-called Xavier. Since Gene had left, my trusting level went down by a thousand. And being confined in my cell for so long and only being taken out for tests, made me more independent and self reserved. Plus he worked for A.I.M! How could I trust him if he was working for the people who captured me? But his deep dark chocolate eyes slowly drew me in, making it easier to trust the honesty and kindness in his eyes. But I still wasn't gonna take any chances.

"And what, pray tell, is my mission Mr. Xavier?" I asked saucily. He looked at me with a smirk plastered on his face and patted my matted hair. "Look _princess,_ attitude will get you nowhere around here. But...since I already like you, I'll tell you." I felt my cheeks burn at his words, which only enlarged his smirk. "We've brought you here to be the updated, and-" He moved a strand of hair out of my face. "-The much prettier version of MODOC. But instead of controlling A.I.M., they want you to take down Tony Stark and Iron Man." His expression darkened slightly at the sound of my friend's name and the hero of New York.

I stared at him in disbelief. " _What made them think I would ever do such a thing? Tony was my best friend! I could never do that to him! But...if we're such good friends, then why hadn't he bust through A.I.M.'s doors as Iron Man, and save me? With Jack Hammer a zombie, Obadiah in a coma, and all the other villains disposed of, who else could he suspect had taken me? He probably didn't even care that I was gone! I bet he only saw me as a crazy Tony Stark fanatic since day 1! After all that I've done for him, after all that we've been through, how could he just abandon me like this?!"_ I was outraged, blinded by my new enhanced emotions. My mind slowly being taken over by my overpowering toxic feelings for the blue eye genius. " **Yes. Tony is a horrible person. Hate him. Loathe him. We must accept this mission; bring him to his knees. I am here for you Pepper. I am here to help you. I just want what you want."** The voice whispered. I hadn't heard it since the first test after my operation. It encouraged me, it helped me, it was there for me all throughout the battle. But the minute after I won, it had vanished. I was slightly relieved it was back. It was **just** my inner thoughts. It just wanted to help me.

I felt a light tap on my shoulder. It was Xavier again. He was handing me something. Without thinking, I mindlessly picked it up and stared Xavier in the eyes. I had made my decision. "I'll do it." My voice barely above a whisper. He looked somewhat shocked, but soon smiled at me. "Alright! I'll tell you what we're gonna do, okay?" He told me. I nodded silently, as he filled me in our mission. After a while, I soon knew everything. "Are you sure that you're okay with all this? I mean Tony was your friend…" He trailed off. I pushed out all thoughts about my friendship with the genius and simply nodded, wanting to get started immediately. The tall boy then took my small hand and led me out of my cell, and into another room. It was a bathroom with gray steel walls, a shower with a tub, a counter with a sink, a toilet, and a rack filled with clothes. He gave me one last warm smile and left the room, leaving me alone in deadly silence once again.


	4. Slavery

Xavier's POV:

I can't believe how beautiful she is! I just hate the fact that she'll soon be controlled. "I'll help her get rid of Tony, but then I'll save her from the Controller and take down A.I.M. with her. I can't wait to get rid of that spoiled brat. He ruined most of my life without even knowing it!" I tried to calm myself down as I briskly walked down the golden hallway and to a black steel door. I breathed deeply before opening the door in front of me, and stepping inside my father's office.

It was dark like usual. I stood what I believed was in front of his desk.

"Everything is going according to plan. The system is slowly infusing with her and taking control." His voice hissed.

I nodded head pretending that I actually cared for the process. But if was I being honest, I was completely disgusted with the process. It was changing who she really was. Her real nature. I wanted to help her but, now wouldn't be the best time. We had to go through with the mission. But, I didn't want her to become a mindless soldier of A.I.M. I stood there as I heard my father ramble on about the changes that were happening to Pepper. Vision, hearing, strength, and physique enhancement. Unfortunately, the serum would take her body and mind as it's own. I somehow had to take out Tony and save Pepper, before Pepper could become a mindless worker.

I quietly sighed in vexation as my father got up from his seat and walked over to me. As he towered over me, we held eye contact. Dark chocolate eyes locked onto black bottomless pits.

"You are my only true child, and the heir to all I have. You have done everything I have commanded. But this mission is more important than anything you've ever done. Do not ruin this or you're as good as **dead**." He threatened.

I wanted to laugh in this man's face. I was treated like his personal slave to him ever since I turned six. If he had more children, he wouldn't even know that I existed. Instead of bursting out in laughter, I simply nodded, turning on my heel and making my way back to Pepper; ready to go to high school.


	5. Pain

Decades ago...

A young, dark haired and blacked eyed boy, the same age as the characters we know and love, ran down the streets of New York with a stormy blue eyed genius by his side. They both laughed and pushed each other playfully, wanting to see who could reach the school lab first. As the black haired boy burst through the school doors, he was too excited to notice the small, blonde haired, baby blue eyed girl in front of him.

BAM!

Books and papers flew in the air, scattering around them. The two looked at one another, both sympathetic looks over their faces. The boy instantly got to picking up her things, while the girl helped. "I'm so sorry. But I've seen you in school, every guy likes you..." He breathed out. He pushed his glasses into place, passed her things to her and smiled. She smiled sweetly at him. "Thank you and, I guess with all the flowers and cards I haven't noticed!" She giggled. With that soft laugh, Basil Sandhurst had fallen in love with Maria Collins Carbonell. Before he could say another word, Howard had finally caught up to his best friend.

He gave Maria a flirty smirk, then turned back to Basil. "Come on B, we have to get to the lab" And with that, their love triangle started.

Maria eventually joined their friend duo and all was calm. But as they grew older, the boys soon started to argue with one another. Their experimental disagreements mixed with their love for Maria clashed. After bitter and horrible words, bloody fights, and sticking Maria in the middle, the blonde finally chose Howard. Basil never went back to them. It was too painful. Basil was soon discovered by A.I.M., and mixed in with their evil. While working for them, Basil married his lovely assistant Abigail and had a child the same time as Maria and Howard.

All was quiet and good. Neither of the families interacted, one going up in the world while the other stayed in the shadows...

2 years ago (When Tony and Xavier were 16)

As Abigail walked down the street, she made a turn into an alley near a warehouse where an illegal exchange was going on. One of the guards spotted her, grabbed her, and tied her up, throwing her in the warehouse. Moments later, Iron Man burst through the ceiling, trying to stop it all. Unfortunately, the criminals had set up a bomb just in case. As Iron Man rounded up the criminals, he spotted Basil's wife.

"10 seconds until detonation" the robotic voice announced.

Reluctantly, he turned away from her and dropped the criminals a few meters away.

5...4...

Xavier's mother cried as her life flashed before her eyes, the last image of her family...

3...

Iron Man started flying back to the warehouse, thinking he could save her...

2...

Due to still being new to the armor, he bumped into a building, getting rid of the last second he had...

1...

The warehouse was blown to bits, the only thing remaining her still on fire wallet. Tony picked up the wallet, putting it out, and opened it finding the family's house address. Taking a ripped dollar bill from the wreckage, and taking a stray damaged pen, he wrote:

"I'm so sorry I couldn't save her. She's gone." -Iron Man.

When Basil and Xavier found out, Xavier became saddened. Basil, on the other hand, was enraged and bitter. Years later when he found out the identity of Iron Man, something snapped. Everything was too much. Too painful. Plans for revenge and suffering were created and fueled by Xavier's constant sadness. But all was halted when he lost his memory, and sent to S.H.I.E.L.D.

Months after Basil's arrest...

A agent walked down the halls, with a small tray of food in his hands. He soon reached Sandhurst's cell, sliding his food to him. Instead of leaving, he stayed, waiting for Basil to finish. Basil just looked at him strangely before taking a bite.

In a matter of seconds, it came back to him.

Everything...

Every.

Painful.

Detail.

As his expression darkened, the agent smiled and opened his cell. "Welcome back Sandhurst, your escape is just down the hall. A.I.M. will always be loyal to you." A sly smirk stretched across Basil's face as he got up, and went back to A.I.M. A new and much less merciless plan formulating in his mind. All Tony Stark loved and cared for would burn...

The Mastermind has been born.


	6. Back To Her Roots

P POV:

After cleaning myself up, I combed out my longer hair, deciding I was going to keep it long for now. Then I searched for my new attire with a new attitude. I was a new Pepper Potts. Judging by the t-shirts and skirts they provided, it had to be close to summer. After rummaging around for awhile, I found my outfit.

I slipped on black shorts, a short red tank top with little shreds on the end. To finish it off, I put on red high top converse and a black beanie. I felt like me again, instead of a captive separated from her life and everything she knew. But I still felt like I relied on my new abilities from my surgery. Just as I was about to open the door and leave, it swung open, revealing a smiling Xavier. He looked me over and a little twinkle sparked in his eyes. "Aww, you made yourself pretty just for me! I'm honored." A little smirk came over his features, just like earlier. I smiled at him and pushed him to the side so I could walk out of the bathroom. "In your dreams Mr. Sandhurst. Now what's our next move?" I said, a smile slowly spreading across my features. Xavier practically pulled me out of the room and led me down those all too familiar honey colored walls. We soon reached the main room, waiting near a wall, Suddenly, a figure seemingly came out of nowhere. This wasn't just some person. It was Basil Sandhurst. A small part of me was revolted at his existence, but the majority of me wanted to thank him. As he turned to me I gave him a respectful nod which he returned with a soft smile.

I stared up at the headset entangled with wires on his head, seeming to be directly connected to his brain. It was slightly pulsing, a light grey aura emitting from it. He towered over us with a demanding and controlling demeanor, but the small smile on his face made him look less intimidating. "Pepper...Xavier...You two are the key parts of my plan. I have no doubts that you will follow through will complete loyalty. Now, everything you will need are in these bags. Do not lose them or else it would mean disaster for us all. Now, are you ready for your mission?" His low monotonous voice echoed in the big area as he handed us two tainted gold backpacks. Looking over to Xavier, I spotted him looking at me as well. As we both nodded, I turned back Sandhurst and answered him.

"We're ready to raise hell"

P POV:

"Alright remember, you have to make it look as realistic as possible." I told Xavier, rustling around in my new bag. "Become old Pepper" I groaned to myself, "Weak. Pathetic. A damsel in distress." I grabbed my old clothes from in the bag, along with a knife. I look over to Xavier and give him an affirming nod. With a slight grimace, he nods back. I slip behind a big building next to the alley we were hiding in and change into the reminders of my old life. I give Xavier a playful groan and laugh once I finish changing, showing him my outfit as I come back to the alley. He snickers lightly and raises an eyebrow,

"Ready to get your ass handed to you Potts?" A slightly mischievous smirk spreading over his features. I laugh a bit more out of nervousness, but shake my head.

"Don't get used to it Sandhurst. What goes around, comes around." I winked.

He laughs with me one last time before moving into a fighting stance, brandishing the knife. I stand with my arms outwards, letting it happen.


	7. Lost and Found

T POV:

One month and two weeks. One month and two weeks since Pepper went missing. Her birthday was even in a couple days…

Ever since she had disappeared, Rhodey and I were searching for her non-stop. Once school ended for the day, we were instantly out in our suits, scouring the city from tiny dark alleys to underground shady businesses. Still nothing. I just wanted her back home. It felt like I was going insane without her. I needed her. Nothing was the same without her.

It was like any other morning since Pepper had gone missing, with me plodding my way to school; the familiar sounds of screeching sirens ringing in my ears. Yet, this time, it was too close to be normal. I picked up my pace and ran, the sounds growing louder as I approached the school. Once I was a good couple feet from the entrance, Rhodey ran up to me. He panted heavily, looking up to meet my eyes. Behind him were a crowd of students, teachers, and passerbys. I looked at the crowd, down at my best friend, then back to the ambulance.

"Two people...collapsed at entrance...needed help...one of them is-"

Before Rhodey could finish, I spotted one of the victims hair. It was that same fiery hair that burned brighter in the sun like a blazing forest fire.

"Pepper…"

I try to contain myself and let the paramedics handle it, but I can't. I push past the entire crowd, tears starting to fall. Some people attempt to restrain me, causing me to rip apart from everyone and push myself closer to her limp body on the gurney. Blinking back some tears, I look at her in shock. Her body looked so frail and bloody. She had so many wounds and gnashes, looking completely beaten. I bite my lip and slide into the ambulance with her. Taking her hand, I look over to the paramedics. My glare telling them that I wasn't going to let her go anytime soon. Letting my stay, they loaded someone else inside the large ambulance. A black haired boy with fair skin. With the arrival of this new kid, my mind raced with questions. 'Who was this? Why was he at the academy? Did he know Pepper? Did _he_ do this to Pepper?' The nervous pit in my stomach only grew heavier ad the heavy doors to the ambulance shut, and it took off into the burning sunrise.


	8. Welcome Home

T P.O.V.:

Can't concentrate. Mind racing. Heart pounding. Breathing shallow.

The white walls become flashes and blurs, continuously filling my lungs with the stale air of the hospital as I run after the gurney carrying one of the most important people in my life on it. 'She has to be okay. I don't know if my heart can handle having her back only to have her permanently go away for the rest of my life…' As they rush her into a room, a few nurses block the doorway causing me to skid to a halt in front of them.

"We're sorry sir, but we cannot allow you any further. The doctor needs time and space to take care of your friend." One of the nurses ordered.

I protested as much as I could, trying my best to break through their little blockade but there was nothing I could do. So, I took a seat across from the door and waited. People walked past, more gurneys flew by, and everyone carried the same aura; the gut-churning feeling that something wrong was going to occur, that sense of foreboding that can't help but keep you on the edge until the very last second of which, even then, a million different outcomes could happen. After waiting for what felt like millenniums, the nurses moved away from the door and let the doctor out of the room. I wasted no time in coming up to her.

"How is she?" I didn't care how rude I sounded at this point, my main focus was Pep.

The doctor smiled at my concern. "She'll be just fine. She has a small body, but she is a fighter. Ms. Potts will be out of here in no time, most likely a day or two." She announced, walking off to attend to more work.

With nothing else in my way, I practically flew inside of Pepper's hospital room and to her bedside.

"Pepper…"

"T-Tony?"

Unknown P.O.V.:

A thin figure in a black catsuit made their way around a small apartment, leaving a trail of discord and scattered items everywhere. They completely tore up the place until they stumbled across a box of valuables inside a broom closet. The figure rummaged through, a small smirk coming over their face as they stared at wads of cash and different types of golden jewelry.

Suddenly, the jingle of keys and the sound of the tumblers turning in the lock could be heard from outside the apartment door. "No no...They shouldn't be here yet." The cat burglar muttered as they covered the box of valuables, and tucked it underneath their arm. Opening up the window in the living room, they climbed out on the small ledge and leapt forward, backflipping a few times to propel their body to the building next door. Without skipping a beat as they landed on their feet, the cat burglar continued running, leaping from building to building until they were far away from the apartment building. They put the box down and ripped their black and white volto mask off, trying to steady their breathing. As they looked at the moon shining above them, only one thought was stuck in their mind.

"I'm coming for you Pepper Potts."

Author Note: Jeez, it's almost been a whole year since I've updated this story. Sorry for the inconsistency, sometimes I lose the desire to write, have writers block, or I'm simply too busy. But thank you so much for sticking with this. I'll try my best to continue this story and my other one, "Black Heart", to completion.


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